Before It's Too Late
by Arrow of Artemis
Summary: "I want you, forever and always." One accident may change their lives forever. He might leave her with an unfulfilled promise. She stopped waiting that time. / One-shot. AU, Percabeth. Based off Parachute's song, "Forever And Always".


**I am so sorry for this one-shot. I swear, I don't mean to make you sad or anything. Anyway, Percy and Annabeth are like, 22 to 23 years old. And this is an AU, people. Again, I am sorry. (Heck, even I was sad when I was writing this! I almost cried!)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own PJO, nor do I own the song "Forever and Always" which this story is based off on. They belong to Uncle Rick, and Parachute, respectively.**

* * *

I checked the wall clock once more. _10.30 PM. Where the heck is he? _I thought. I had called Percy's phone several times now, but still, no answer. He was supposed to be here at my house 4 hours ago. He would have called me if he'd run late. The food on the table is starting to get cold, but I decide to wait a little bit longer for him.

His car isn't there yet; I already asked my neighbors if they had seen Percy, but they didn't. _Did something bad happen…? I hope not, _I thought. I walked towards the living room window and saw that it had started raining. Then, the phone rang. I hurriedly answered it, for I thought it was already Percy.

"Hello?" I said.

"A-Annabeth… Come here… NOW. At the hospital near your office. Percy…he's…oh god. Just come here!" a voice, which I recognized as Thalia's, said and she hung up immediately.

I ran upstairs and got my keys, wallet, and jacket, then went back downstairs and out of the house towards my car, despite of the heavy rain that was falling. I entered and started the engine of the car and drove. As I did all of these, my mind went back towards last December. It was the happiest day of my life; it started with a simple picnic in Central Park and ended with a moonlit walk back to my house.

* * *

_Percy, my boyfriend of four years, and I were walking hand-in-hand, just like we used to do when we were still kids. When we were approaching the playground that was near my house, Percy stopped, causing me to also stop._

"_What is it, Seaweed Brain?" I asked, using the nickname I gave him when we were about 8 years old._

_He scrunched his eyebrows together__—__a habit he does when he thinks deeply or he's just plain confused. "Wait here, Wise Girl. I'll be back in a jiffy."_

"_Um, okay…?" I said as he removed his hand from mine and headed towards the bushes._

_I sat on the swing and swayed back and forth using my feet. After about 2 minutes or so, Percy came back with something he was holding behind his back._

_I was curious, so I asked him, "What do you have there, Perce?"_

"_Uh, um, nothing…Annie. Nothing much." He was starting to perspire a little and it was noticeable that his hands—or rather, hand—was shaking. He was looking at anything and everything else except me._

_He exhaled deeply, got something out of his pocket, and bent down on one knee._

"_What are you-?" I started to say, but I was interrupted by Percy._

"_Annabeth Chase, just listen to me this one time, okay? Before my bravery just disappears. Okay, here it goes." He inhaled and exhaled with his eyes closed, then opened them again and looked straight to my eyes._

"_Annabeth, I don't know how to describe how you changed my life. Positively, I mean. And you're…just…so…influential, I guess.."_

_I chuckled a little._

"_See? I'm not good at describing! Anyway, what I want to say is that I want to spend forever with you—through the good and the bad and the ugly. I want to grow old together with you, and have kids, and have grandkids, and…yeah, you get my point._

"_But the question is will you agree? Annabeth Chase, will you marry me?" He opened the small box containing a ring with a jade stone on top of it._

_I have to admit, I was completely taken back by his sudden…actions. But I did not take long to think about my answer._

"_Yes."_

_Percy stood up, still holding the box and a bunch of flowers (which he probably got when he ran towards the bushes). "I know you still have to think about it, Annie. You don't have to give me an answer right away—wait, did you just say yes?"_

_I nodded and laughed. "Yes, Percy. I'll marry you."_

_Percy blinked a few times before jumping and shouting, "Yes! Yes! She said yes! Oh, thank god!"_

_He took out the ring from the box and slipped it to my ring finger. Then, he gave me the flowers he picked, which were a bunch of pansies and roses._

"_You don't know how happy I am right now, Annabeth. I seriously thought you'd say no," he admitted._

"_But I said yes, didn't I? And why would I say no? I'd like to see little Annabeth's and Percy's running around in our home someday, anyway," I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed back, then hugged me._

"_I love you, Annabeth. Forever and always."_

"_I love you, too, Percy. Forever and always."_

* * *

I shook my head to clear out my thoughts as I arrived in the hospital which Thalia told me. I parked, got out of my car, and went inside the hospital. I went straight to the front desk.

"Do you have a patient named Percy Jackson here?" I asked the nurse.

She typed something into her computer, then looked up to me. "Um yes. He is currently located in room 154. Let me guide you."

"Okay. Thank you."

We passed through different hallways and corridors. The nurse was talking about something—probably the reason why Percy's here. I just heard some bits of what she was saying, something like "drunk driving" and "stupid driver" and "poor boy". It felt like eternity to me until we reached the door of Percy's room. I thanked the nurse, and opened the door to see Thalia sitting on a chair that was near the bed. The bed which my fiancé was lying down on.

Percy's body was covered with blood-soaked bandages, especially his head. His heart monitor had slightly slow beats. I tried to keep a straight face as I walked towards them. I tried to not cry and collapse right there and then. Thalia looked at me and stood up immediately. She hugged me and patted my back in a reassuring way.

"I'm sure he'll survive, Annie. He's brave, I know he'll get better," she said.

I closed my eyes before asking, "What exactly…happened to him?"

She pulled away from the hug then walked us towards the couch and sat. I sat beside her and listened to what she's saying.

"They said he was just driving to your house from work. He passed a stoplight—which was lighted green, mind you—when suddenly, a car buzzes towards his car and crashes.

"Percy's head took most of the damage. Police says that the, um, suspect was driving while he was drunk, so he was taken to jail. He didn't get too much injuries, though."

I'm pretty sure she muttered "lucky jerk" under her breath. I can't help thinking the same, the guy was indeed lucky, having little or no injuries at all. Not like Percy, who took most—if not all—of the impact of the collision.

I started walking towards his bedside and sat on the chair Thalia sat on awhile ago. She stayed put on the couch with her head in her hands. I held Percy's hand in my hands, and his eyes fluttered slightly—a sign that he was awake.

"Percy? Are you awake?" I asked.

"Um…yeah," he answered, though it was obvious that the simple action made him weaker.

"Oh my god, why did this happen to you… I-I thought we're gonna have little kids running around… A-A-And the house on the hillside! How about that? How are we gonna stay there forever if you're here…like this…" I started sobbing and put my head on his hand which I was holding.

"Annabeth…we….we're still gonna accomplish those…I'm still gonna marry you…and you…are gonna be Mrs. Jackson, okay? We'll still love each other…forever and always," he said between breaths.

When he said that we were still gonna marry each other, I had an idea. I stood and asked Thalia to go get the chaplain and the nurses to come here. I proceeded to the next room, where a married couple was found. I asked them if I could borrow their rings for awhile, and they agreed.

"Thank you very much. Silena, Charles," I said.

Before I exited the room, Charles said, "I prefer being called as Beckendorf!"

I nodded and faked a chuckle, then went back to Percy's room. I saw that Thalia had already returned with the people I told her to accompany here.

I explained to the chaplain my idea and he agreed. He said a couple verses, and when it was my time to say my vows, the tears started falling to the floor and I swear I heard some quiet laughter. I looked at Percy's eyes directly. "I want you forever, Percy. Through the good and the bad and the ugly. I know that we'll grow old together, and always remember that whatever happens, we'll still love each other, forever and always." It's a miracle that I've managed to say those through my sobs.

By the time I finished saying my vows, Percy's heart beats are getting slower, too slow for me. Everyone around us became quiet, so the only sound we hear is Percy's deep breaths and low voice.

"Annabeth…I love you…forever and always… Please remember…even if I'm not there…I'll…always love…you forever…and…always…I—"

Then, the monitor showed a straight line, and Percy's voice and breathing was long gone.

* * *

**Don't throw your weapons at me, please! As I said above, I don't mean to make you sad. This song was just too good to let it pass, okay? Cut me some slack! (I even slipped this in while I was reviewing and writing a reaction paper…)**

**Review!**

**P.S. Surviving The Charmspeak will be updated once Fire and I would not have a busy schedule. For short, it could be anytime. :)**


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